プロレス Primer
A weekly guide to Japanese pro wrestling.

Newsletter: February 18, 2025

Welcome to another edition of Puroresu Primer, your guide to the week behind and the week ahead in Japanese pro wrestling.

This issue covers events between 2/12 and 2/18, including the DDT D-Generations Cup and some smaller shows from NOAH and AJPW. I’ve also got a bonus report from night 2 of the JCW Jersey J-Cup.

Match Recommendations

DDT 2/14 (Wrestle Universe)

AJPW 2/14 (ajpw.tv)

NOAH 2/15 (Wrestle Universe)

GLEAT x DDT 2/15 (GLEAT Youtube, paywalled)

Marigold 2/16 (Wrestle Universe)

DDT

D Generations Cup winner

DDT wrapped up the block matches for the D Generations Cup last week (technically way back on 2/9, but it didn’t air until 2/12). I had a really good time watching this tournament as someone who’s really excited about DDT’s up-and-comers, but I’m not super enthused about the final they’ve set up.

The finalists are Takeshi Masada in the A block and Yuya Koroku in the B block, and they’ll face each other in the main event of the 2/23 Korakuen Hall show. This is actually a rematch of the finals from the 2023 D Generations Cup, which Masada ended up winning.

Koroku got a big spotlight last year at Ultimate Party, where he tagged with Tetsuya Endo (his stablemate in Burning) against MAO & To-y for the vacant tag team championship. Endo & Koroku came up short, and Burning were dissolved immediately after. Koroku defeated To-y in the last match in the B block of this tournament to earn his spot in the finals, a big victory for him.

So I think I like all of that on paper - if that was all that was in play, I would like to see Koroku win here to get revenge on Masada for the 2023 cup and to prove that he can hang with Masada and To-y. There’s an extra wrinkle in here I have mixed feelings about, though:

The 2023 and 2024 D Generations Cup tournaments were for an appearance on DDT’s WrestleMania weekend show in the US and for a spot in the King of DDT tournament, respectively. The 2025 tournament is for a shot at the KO-D Openweight Champion at a Korakuen show on 4/9. That’s much higher stakes - thus the tournament final being the main event of the 2/23 show.

Chris Brookes is the current KO-D champion, and will probably be the champion coming out of Judgement. Takeshi Masada is in Brookes’s stable (Schadenfreude). Back at the New Year’s Fan Appreciation Day show, which was set up as a series of 10 minute rookie vs veteran matches, Masada got an upset victory over his opponent, Yuki Iino, and declared his intent to face Chris for the title. The other guy on that show - who took Chris Brookes to a time limit draw - was To-y, who also declared his intent to challenge Chris.

I assumed this would lead to a big Masada vs To-y showdown in the finals. Now, on one hand, not great for a rookie tournament when you’re on your third iteration of that tournament and your finalists are the guys who won the last two. On the other hand, you probably do want your two most qualified rookies in this year’s final, because they’d be the most qualified for a title shot.

And that’s where Yuya Koroku comes up short for me. I’d buy him just fine as a winner of this tournament using it as a springboard into singles match success, but I just think Masada vs Brookes is a far more compelling match than Koroku vs Brookes in every way. Masada vs Brookes would have the drama of a mentor vs mentee angle, whereas Koroku vs Brookes would just… sorta be the average rookie vs veteran challenge, except there’s a title that removes any possible chance of an upset for Koroku.

It’s also really funny to imagine Brookes losing at Judgement and then the first defense of the new champion being against one of these two guys. I wouldn’t put anything past DDT, but it’s so wildly unlikely that I think there’s now gonna be no drama in the main event of Judgement either. I’d drop the title shot for the tournament next year, or at least don’t have a another title match between the tournament final and the title shot. Or maybe just have it be a shot at the DDT Universal belt, which feels much more attainable for a rookie.

On a side note, the winner of this tournament in my heart was Kazuma Sumi, the short orange-haired guy who, for lack of a better description, gives Dragon Gate vibes - which isn’t surprising since he dropped out of the Dragon Gate dojo. He does flips, he does dives, he has big flashy spins and strikes, he feels a little like El Lindaman minus the - I don’t think I can say the “s” word in an email newsletter without hitting a bunch of spam filters, so I’ll say without the 1 chicken, 2 asparagus regiment. (Apparently, I’m not alone in this comparison; at the GLEAT crossover show on 2/15 they did a whole bit in a trios match where one of GLEAT’s wrestlers confused Sumi with El Lindaman.)

Yuki Iino injury

Yuki Iino got a fractured orbital bone, presumably sustained in the main event tag of the 2/9 show that doubled as the D Generations Cup block finals. I didn’t watch this match (the show was taped with a single ringside camera with no steadying and was genuinely nauseating to watch; I tapped out instead of watching what seemed like a pretty standard tag main), and don’t really want to go back through looking for the injury. Not a medical expert but looks like this is probably a 2-3 month period on the shelf.

Iino was being set up for a big DDT Extreme Title match against his old Pheremones stablemate, Danshoku Dieno, on the Judgement show at Korakuen on 3/20. He was also going to have a full Pheremones reunion on the 2/23 Korakuen show, which also has the D Generation Cup finals and an anime collab match and… very little else. That match was going to be Dieno and Iino on opposite sides of a tag with former Pheremones members Koju Takeda and Yumehito Imanari split between the teams - that’ll sort of still happen, but with Super Sasadango Machine taking Iino’s place. However, Dieno’s no longer listed on the Judgement card at all; it’s possible he’ll find a new challenger for the Extreme belt but nothing is lined up yet.

I am not going to sit here with a straight face, reader, and tell you that I am sad to see a big Pheremones match get scratched. Obviously I don’t like the circumstance; I think Iino is great and I was really annoyed they were dragging him back into the Pheremones mire for this story. I think they will just delay this angle for a couple months and do it again, but I’d rather they just had Iino come back from injury and do anything else.

DDT Judgement card

Chris Brookes still doesn’t have a listed opponent for the 3/20 Judgement show. That’s a big show - literally, the full name is DDT Judgement 5 Hour Special - and it’s not like he has any other title challenges between now and then that we need to see the results of first, so I’m a a little surprised there’s not a name out there to start moving some tickets. Hopefully we’ll learn more on the 2/23 show.

I had two random thoughts pop into my head at various points for people who could be “big gets”: Takeshita, who is on a “DDT x AEW x New Japan” contract, and ZSJ, who has had some crossover appearances in DDT and just dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Takeshita I figure will get a title match of some sort at some point this year, but maybe at a venue bigger than Korakuen (e.g. Wrestle Peter Pan), and maybe not for the KO-D Openweight belt. The timing doesn’t work for Zack - the 3/20 show is the same date as the New Japan Cup finals. Besides, unless Sanshiro Takagi is doing some absolutely astonishing work as the head of United Japan Pro-Wrestling, I don’t really see Zack getting an actual singles match in DDT anytime soon, let alone with stakes like the KO-D title.

So, looking at the DDT roster, who’s left? Chris beat Shinya Aoki for the championship and Daisuke Sasaki at Ultimate Party, so it won’t be them. It won’t be Yuki Ueno, who will be defending the DDT Universal Title against Minoru Suzuki. It also won’t MAO or To-y, who are defending the KO-D Tag Team Championship against the Astronauts, who seem to be everywhere these days (and I am certainly not complaining). Given my notes on the D Generations Cup, I could have almost justified a goofy angle where To-y jumps the line for a challenge (by interrupting a post-tournament victory promo from Masada, for example), but that won’t be happening.

It could be Higuchi, who has a comeback match on the show with no known opponent yet; they could combine the two matches. I suppose it could also be Shunma, who is also getting a return match; I would love to see that match but think it’s less likely.

Other than that, the DDT upper card is like HARASHIMA and… uh… hm. Beyond that a list of possible challengers is just “everyone who is in DDT and wasn’t in the D Generations Cup,” so I’ll stop here. Maybe MJ Paul will decide he wants in on the staple gun spots.

Other DDT news

I am a little worried about this weekend’s show. It’s very, very weak for a Korakuen. The 1/26 show DDT ran there didn’t look fantastic and that featured Yuki Ueno and Chris Brookes defending their championships; this could be a pretty dire-looking house in a couple weeks. DDT had a small card at Korakuen last year at this time, Into the Fight 2024, but that drew a big house anchored by the debut of the idol Kaisei Takechi - no such star will be appearing this year.

Speaking of Kaisei Takechi, he is appearing on commentary on the show; maybe he’ll set up a Judgement match while he’s there.

The semi-main event on the show is an anime collaboration with “Brave Bang Bravern,” where MAO and Yuki Ueno will be teaming with a mecha named Bravern. Always fun to try to guess who the heck is in the costume on these shows. If Shunma wasn’t injured I’d assume it’d be him, since everyone else seems to be booked in a match on this show. I guess HARASHIMA isn’t; normally I’d just assume it’s a day off or an aging ace but it’s a bit of a conspicuous absence for a Korakuen.

The Sauna Club Valentine’s Day show doesn’t have much you really need to go back for, but there is a fun Keigo Nakamura vs Shinya Aoki opener and a solid Yoshihiko match in there. Also Fuminori Abe wrestling in an inexplicably revealing garment. Enjoyed the big gasps from the front row whenever he went to readjust it; clearly they got to see even more of Fuminori Abe’s Entire Situation than even the hard cam did.

There was a GLEAT x DDT crossover show that seems to be exclusive to GLEAT’s Youtube membership ($9/mo). It was a perfectly fine show of forgettable matches that you probably don’t need to check out (full report on Dramatic DDT, if you’re curious). The previously-mentioned trios match with Sumi was the highlight, just a solid trios with a fast-paced closing sequence. Chris Brookes vs Soma Watanabe did not sell me on Soma Watanabe at all as GLEAT’s young ace, but that match came together on three days’ notice after a minor illness for Yuki Ueno, so I can cut them some slack.

NOAH

KENTA signed full-time in NOAH, which isn’t a big surprise given his new tag team with Kenoh. He’s gone from NJPW, and it’s unknown if he’s gonna do any more US indie dates any time soon. He did drop the DEFY title but also cut a promo saying he’d go after the MLW championship last week.

The four small shows between last week’s Korakuen and the 3/2 Yokohama show, in addition to having the Jr Tag League block matches, now have a running feud: Team 2000X versus the newly-named “Passionate RATEL’s,” which is just RATEL’s with Manabu Soya in it.

They’re also just giving Kenoh & KENTA a bunch of tags on this tour as well: matches against Kitamiya & Sasaki Ulka, Mohammed Yone & Anthony Greene, Kaito & Kai Fujimura, Kitamiya & Yone, and on the Memorial Voyage show on 3/2, Kazuyuki Fujita & Sasaki Ulka. I assume KenKen will win all of these, but NOAH does need to set up a credible challenger for them eventually, since the tag belts are currently vacated after Omos’s sudden departure back to the WWE. They could keep the Kenoh & Kaito story going by setting up, say, Kaito & Galeno on the other side of a match for the belts.

I enjoyed the 2/15 show enough to throw a few match recommendations up. This junior tag league has really surprised me; I’m actually a bit invested in it now! The A Block is going to come down to Mark Trew & Kieron Lacey vs Kai Fujimura & Alejandro on the 2/22 show. The B Block will get decided across the 2/20 and 2/21 shows.

They’ve been doing a gimmick with Manabu Soya where whenever he yells, they shake the camera like it’s late-2010s WWE. I can’t say it’s doing much to get Soya over with me.

NJPW

FantasticaMania kicks off tonight, but we won’t get any streaming shows until the 27th and 28th double shot at Korakuen. NJPW’s English site has previews for both of these shows (one, two).

These two nights are both headlined by big CMLL vs CMLL matches, and there isn’t really much NJPW representation in the undercards either. Should be a great time if you want to see some luchadors, though, especially at a much cheaper price than CMLL’s Youtube membership. I’m currently writing this on Friday night when the CMLL FantasticaMania “preview show” is airing and I’m somewhat annoyed to be missing it, but I am far too cheap to give them $25 for a month, especially given their next big show, Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, is more than a month away from this one and will be on the $35 tier. I mostly include these prices to make you feel better next time you decide to drop $10 to watch one show on Dragon Gate Network or something.

The IWGP Heavyweight title will be defended on shows in Chicago and California in April and May. I’m going to the Chicago show. I’ve seen some speculation that they might do Goto vs Yuji Nagata there, but I think that’s kind of a weird place for that match - not that US crowds don’t respect Nagata, but I don’t think they’d be as into that main event as much as they would be into a younger opponent. I’m projecting, to be fair; I’m going to that show and I’m not as into the Nagata match as I would be some others. Still, New Japan has often been accused of not giving the US “Japan-quality” title matches, and you can’t make that complaint about Goto vs Nagata.

ZSJ is working two GCW shows (3/1 LA and 3/2 Phoenix) and isn’t on the 3/6 NJPW Anniversary card (unless he’s the surprise TV champion challenger, which would be very silly). If he’s staying stateside for a bit, he could potentially make an appearance on the AEW Dynamite/Collision taping in Sacramento on 3/5 and/or AEW Revolution on 3/9 and still make it back to Japan in time for his 3/11 New Japan Cup match.

Other News

Quiet period for AJPW on the runup to their big 2/24 show. There wasn’t much on the two shows they ran last week but I really liked a tag on the 2/14 show that I put in the match recommendations - the majority of it is Dan Tamura and Hideki Suzuki doing mat wrestling, it’s really neat.

TJPW had a fun weekend of shows, with an outdoor concert/show in Tokyo, a Shinkansen match, and an Osaka show. I cannot say I’ve ever been a guy who cares about TJPW’s musical performances, but I gave it the concert a quick skim and was delighted to see Rika Tatsumi performing her theme with a guitar. Won’t go through the Shinkansen show here (it won’t be uploaded to Wrestle Universe until tomorrow), but there is a full report from Dramatic DDT if you want it (as well as one for the Osaka show after).

Shun Skywalker’s produce show now has its first match announced: Z-Brats (Shun Skywalker, Kota Minoura, & Homare) vs LIJ (Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI). Sounds sick! Hopefully this makes Dragon Gate Network; DG has been promoting it so it’s definitely affiliated with them and not Shun going off doing his own thing entirely.

I really like the work Chi Chi has been doing as Sendai Girls’s Junior Champion, and she now has a new challenger lined up: Stardom’s Aya Sakura. This will be on the big 3/19 Sendai Girls show that also has defenses of the tag belts and world title, think that’s gonna be an awesome show.

Marigold announced a big 1st-anniversary show on 5/24 that will feature Nanae Takahashi’s retirement match. I will be interested to see what wins, if any, she gives up to Marigold’s rookies on the way to that show.

What to watch this week (2/19 - 2/26)

This weekend is the Emperor’s Birthday holiday in Japan on the 23rd and 24th, so there’s a lot stacked up this weekend.

DDT’s not-so-big Korakuen show is on the 23rd, or for American audiences 9pm ET on 2/22. I don’t think this is gonna be much of a show, but it’s on at a reasonable time and there’s always the chance Masada and Yuya step it up for their big main event spotlight.

AJPW’s Excite Series show is on the 24th. I’m not as big on the Jun Saito vs Yuma Aoyagi main event as I was before their tag match, which was fun but kinda quickly showed the limits of what these guys could do. That said, I am still really excited for Yuma Anzai & Rising HAYATO vs Astronauts.

Dragon Gate’s Memorial Gate show is also on the 24th; that looks to be a pretty standard show anchored by one big Open the Triangle Gate main event. I’ll be checking that out as part of my continued attempts to get into Dragon Gate this year, though I might not get to it in time for next issue.

Stardom’s having a big PPV show on the 24th as well, with three championship matches. I’ll be tuning in for this one as well. Rina is challenging Starlight Kid for the Wonder of Stardom championship in the main event. Rina is 18 and debuted in 2017 which is, uh, upsetting, but she also held the Future of Stardom championship from May 2023 through October 2024, so… I can understand her getting a shot at one of the two main belts, I guess!

There’s some smaller shows this week as well - the NOAH Jr Tag League will have its blocks decided over shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and Marigold has a Korakuen show on the 20th that’ll stream live on Wrestle Universe. Evolution has a show on 2/19 main evented by Suwama vs Takuya Nomura (of the Astronauts), which I’m definitely going to check out.

GLEAT are also doing a “big” show on 2/22 at Korakuen. The big international attraction here is that they flew in Lio Rush… to do a match under G-RUSH rules, which are a seven-minute time limit and two-count falls. But hey, good for Lio to get paid to fly over for a match with a seven-minute time limit.

Bonus: I saw some live wrestling

The JCW Jersey J-Cup tournament happened over two nights in Jersey City, and I schlepped over from Queens to check out night 2. Like every GCW/JCW card, it had a bunch of guest talent I was interested in seeing (Masha Slamovich, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd) facing a bunch of GCW regulars I don’t care about at all (respectively: Marcus Matthers, Alec Price, Mance Warner). Night 2 crammed in quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the tournament into a single night.

This was my first indie show since WrestleMania weekend last year. What I was looking forward to the most delivered: Gabe vs Mance was a big crowd brawl, with a lot of extra padding to give time for the tournament finalists to recover before the main event. This did make the pacing kind of rough - the last 10 minutes basically could have been shaved off, or at least shaved down - but of course, that didn’t matter as much in the building when I was standing next to Mance and Gabe teeing off on each other. I had a standing ticket, which was convenient for walking along the edge of the venue to follow the crowd brawl. The finish was a pretty goofy no contest - the ref called the match because Gabe Kidd was going to murder Mance with a hammer or screwdriver or something - but, eh, doesn’t really hurt for this kind of match. I probably would have just done a double KO after the superplex through a door.

As for the tournament itself (which was the rest of the show’s matches other than an immediately-forgettable delayed-entry scramble match): it built to a Masha vs Alec Price final, with Masha winning the tournament for a second year in a row and retaining the JCW championship. Bit of a weird call since Alec was doing pretty well as the underdog face, and had gotten over with me at least (and I am a long-time hater of GCW’s various juniors), but it seems that the plan is to run Masha vs Jordan Oliver once Oliver is back from injury and they didn’t want to mess with that. The perils of having your tournament be for the title itself and not a title shot, I guess.

One other match I was really looking forward to, Leon Slater vs Drew Parker (of FREEDOMS/Big Japan/Baka Gaijin fame) unfortunately ended in what seemed to be a shoot KO for Drew, who failed to kick out of a Blue Thunder Bomb. This was rather awkward in the building since it took forever to get anyone to the ring to help Drew - any other promotion I’d think that meant it was a work, but there was already one worked-injury segment on this show (Joey Janela getting his arm messed up, which seems to maybe be storyline cover for a real surgery), and I think even GCW aren’t dumb enough to double up on that. One nice thing about indie shows in NYC proper is that the requirement for proper EMTs on-site tends to make work vs shoot obvious (as it was for, say, Allie Katch at Hammerstein); no such luck across the river here in Jersey CIty.

Clark Connors vs Alec Price was a solid opening match. Clark was one of the only wrestlers running a merch table after the show, I got to thank him for his great New Beginning in Osaka commentary and bought some New Japan sweatpants off him (I felt a little bad not buying some BC War Dogs merch, but uh, it doesn’t quite fit my personal aesthetic, to put it mildly).

Thanks for reading! I am still dialing in lots of things: how much attention I give each promotion, how much detail to go into for every company, how much to focus on results vs news vs previews. Feel free to send an email to puroresuprimer@fastmail.com with feedback or anything you think I missed.